Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 82
चतुर्द्दशी तथा शंभोः प्रिया नास्त्यत्र संशयः । निशीथसंयुता या तु कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्द्दशी । उपोष्या सा तिथिः श्रेष्ठा शिवसायुज्यकारिणी
caturddaśī tathā śaṃbhoḥ priyā nāstyatra saṃśayaḥ | niśīthasaṃyutā yā tu kṛṣṇapakṣe caturddaśī | upoṣyā sā tithiḥ śreṣṭhā śivasāyujyakāriṇī
चतुर्दशी तिथी शंभूला प्रिय आहे—यात संशय नाही. पण कृष्णपक्षातील जी चतुर्दशी निशीथ (मध्यरात्रि) युक्त असेल, ती उपवासाने पाळावी; ती श्रेष्ठ तिथी शिवसायुज्य देणारी आहे.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)
Tirtha: Śivarātri (niśītha-yuktā Kṛṣṇa-caturdaśī) in Kedāra context
Type: kshetra
Scene: Midnight in a Himalayan shrine: devotees fasting, lamps flickering, offering bilva leaves to a liṅga; the moon is dark, stars sharp; Śiva’s presence felt as a luminous stillness; a clock-like niśītha moment emphasized.
FAQs
Focused austerity on Śiva’s most beloved night leads toward liberation-oriented intimacy with Śiva (śiva-sāyujya).
The Kedāra-kṣetra milieu underlies the instruction, though the verse is primarily about Śiva’s sacred tithi rather than a single location.
Fast (upoṣa) on the dark-fortnight Caturdaśī that coincides with midnight (niśītha), a foremost Śaiva observance.
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